The business behind the show

New animated series to debut on online channel Shut Up! Cartoons

April 3, 2012 | 6:02
pm

One is about a Japanese monster that shrinks down to human size and is forced to seek a variety of mundane jobs. Another describes the life of a 13-year-old going through puberty, from the perspective of a recent Cal Arts graduate.

"Krogzilla gets a job" and "Pubertina" are among 18 original series that will be featured on a new online animation channel on YouTube debuting April 30 called Shut Up! Cartoons. It's the brainchild of comedic duo Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, creators of the popular YouTube channel Smosh.

Shut Up! Cartoons, targeted at teens and young adults, will feature a diverse lineup of shows, and is the latest example of how the Internet is emerging as an increasingly important breeding ground for animation.

Top online video distributors such as Yahoo and YouTube are creating or distributing premium online animation as part of an effort to keep viewers on their sites and to generate more advertising dollars. Google Inc.'s YouTube, its dominant online video site, is helping fund and develop 100-plus free high-quality channels with the support of top Hollywood animation veterans and new talent.

"It's a really exciting opportunity for us,'' said Barry Blumberg, the Shut Up! Cartoons executive producer and former longtime chief of Disney Television Animation. "What everybody struggles with in the media world is that there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen. We talked to creatives and said, 'What would it be like to essentially make your own thing?'"